Mandolins with darker tones.

[CHASAX]

Have a Weber Vintage oval hole. It is bright.
Would like something with a darker tone.
What mandolins do you suggest?

[fscotte]

Use Thomastik strings or Silk and Steel.

[George R. Lane]

I had a Vintage A and I put Thomastiks on it and it toned the brightness down.

[Tobin]

Silverangels have dark tone, I hear.

[WoodyCTA102]

Strings can make a big difference, try GHS silk and steel or silk and bronze. Might as well try some Elixir Nanos. The Thomastiks are nice too. Picks and where you pick can make a big difference. If it's a new mandolin, playing the heck out it will help. Also, if the action is quite low, might try raising it a bit. Good luck. Weber Oval holes usually are not overly bright, although it has been decades since I've played one. I do have a 2002 Bridger Manola D hole that is deep and thunderous. Good luck.

[Joey Anchors]

I use Pyramid Gold series flatwounds on my oval. Strings make a big difference in tone.

[Bob Clark]

I, too, had a Weber Vintage A oval-hole. It sounded great with flat-wounds such as Thomastics. I really liked it with JazzMandos when they were available. A thicker, less pointed pick also darkened the tone. That was a really nice sounding mandolin.

[Br1ck]

You may be looking for a Silverangel. They have their own unique tone.

[Marty Jacobson]

Monteleone Grand Artist.

[Ky Slim]

1920s Gibson A styles

[HonketyHank]

I put some Elixer Nanos on a Weber oval hole and the tone actually got brighter. At first, much brighter; then it mellowed out a bit. I like it now, but it is not a dark tone. I agree that the choice of picks can make a big difference on bright vs dark. I went from a Primetone to a V-Pick after I put on the Elixers. That also helped mellow it out some.

[Dave Hanson]

Of all my mandolins the Gibson F9 has the darkest tone, I love it.

Dave H

[mandopaul]

Of all my mandolins the Gibson F9 has the darkest tone, I love it.

Dave H

Darker than your Gibson A pumpkin top?

[red7flag]

I have a Girouard Mandola Studio A. Has some of the darkest tones of any instrument I have played. Darker and deeper than the Mowry GOM. From what I have heard, the Girouard mandolins also have dark tones, but no direct knowledge as the Mandola I got was the only Girouard I have played. When I picked it up at Carter's, I was stunned. Bought it the next day.

[gtani7]

Red bear or other caseine picks (Papas, Herve, john pearse) give darker tone with less volume. GSH silk/bronze are a little darker than phosphor/bronze, they also have silk/steel sets. Mangan Monel strings are supposed to be darker, and Thomastik flatwounds also (of those stringsets, i've only tried silk and bronze)

[Dave Hanson]

The 1917 A has a very sweet woody tone, I wouldn't describe it as dark at all.

Dave H

[Jim]

Flat wound strings.

[Don Grieser]

Did Santa get your Northfield to you? It should be dark.

[Bill Cameron]

My Eastman 505 has really strong bass tones, if thats what you mean. I dont know about other Eastman models particularly, this one just has a lot of lower end bite. I use daddario flatwounds but that doesnt make the tone any darker, just more comfy to play.

[tiltman]

Much wisdom here in trying different strings and picks before you give up on this mando.
(Much cheaper too - BTDT)

I find that Dawg picks and Golden Gate picks are very dark...

Kirk

[Martin Ohrt]

If possible, you could try to get one of the german "Wolle" picks. They are made from some very soft and thick plastic and produce nearly no "pick-click" and a quite warm tone. They are used by most german classical players...

[verbs4us]

A few years ago I made the rounds in Nashville and got to play a whole bunch of highly respected instruments, among then a Kimble, Heiden, Red Diamond and a Mowery. They were all great and were variations on a theme. Then I picked up a used Nugget A, which had been damaged and Mike had replaced the top and refinished it a few years before. It was still kind of beat up. And it was a Mandolin From Another Planet, with a dark, throaty, rich tone. How to describe? It was like Belgian dark chocolate and everything else was Hershey's Real Dark; it woofed like a 60-pound Burmese Mountain Dog to everything else yipping like a 15-pound Scotty. It became my baseline when someone says "dark tone, anyone?"

[mandroid]

Mandola?

[Chris Browne]

This is a bit tongue in cheek, but buy a Dawg pick and you'll need a flashlight when you play your Weber!

[Ken Berner]

I understand that the oval hole Weber mandolins are the only ones now x-braced. I have used the original Brekke bridge on three mandolins to reduce brightness. I assume it is the additional mass of ebony that seems to help.